3 notes &
Interface: Macross 7 introduces a truly unique method of controlling a robot and piloting spacecraft. Basara Nekki pilots his VF-19 Excalibur Custom with what amounts to a Guitar Hero video game controller.
From the Macross Mecha Manual website:
The cockpit of the VF-19 Custom is redesigned to utilize a non-conventional control stick resembling a guitar, an instrument that singer/pilot Nekki Basara manipulates skillfully to operate the myriad controls of the variable fighter in combat.
This is a highly implausible system, given how Basara evades most attacks, manually manipulates the pinpoint barrier system, and performs guitar solos on this interface all at the same time.
However, since it is something to take at face value in the context of the Macross universe, Basara then becomes one of the elitest of the elite skilled pilots in all of mecha anime. Similarly, Mylene Flare Jenius and Ray Lovelock control their VFs with musical instrument-based interfaces (Bass Guitar, Keyboard Guitar respectively).
THIS IS JUST ABOUT THE GREATEST THING EVER. True story.
